AAP misusing national flag: Congress

23:45AAP misusing national flag: Congress: Delhi Congress today demanded derecognition of Aam Aadmi Party and action against its workers alleging that it is "misusing" the national flag.

"Members of the Aam Aadmi Party have openly misused the national flag and hence should be derecognised immediately and action be initiated against them under the National Flag Act,"Delhi Congress committee general secretary Naresh Kumar said in a statement after meeting the election commissioner of Delhi Vijay Dev.

Kumar said he would also meet the chief election commissioner to hand over a memorandum in this regard.

22:20Bachchan receives NTR Film Award: Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was tonight presented with N T Rama Rao National Film Award set up by the Andhra Pradesh government.

"I have no words to express my extreme gratitude for this very very warm welcome....I feel very honoured and very humbled to receive this recognition from Andhra Pradesh government," Bachchan said after receiving the award from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy in Hyderabad.

Extending greetings for Telugu New Year Ugadi and noting that he shared a lovely relationship with the late NTR, Bachchan said "many of his films we would remake in Hindi and many of our films were remade in Telugu."

The hearing was adjourned after CBI Superintendent of Police A G L Kaul, who was to depose before the court today, could not turn up.

The bureau informed the court that Kaul could not appear as he was out of station.

During the previous hearing on April 9, an official of the Gujarat Forensic Science University had told the court that the crime was possibly committed using a golf club and surgical knife, adding that no outsider except the Talwar couples was involved in the murder.

21:09Indian soldier's body arrives from Sudan: The body of Havildar Bharat Sasmal, who was killed in an ambush in South Sudan on Tuesday while serving in the United Nations peacekeeping mission, was brought in Kolkata on Thursday.

Defence sources said that Havildar Sasmal was among the five soldiers whose convoy was ambushed in Jonglei region of South Sudan on April 9.

Five Indian Army personnel, including a Lt Colonel were killed and four injured during a UN peacekeeping mission when their 32-member convoy was attacked. Havildar Sasmal from 9 mechanised Infantry hailed from Patospur village in Howrah district. He is survived by his mother, wife, a nine-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son.

20:31Death penalty & delayed decisions: Verdict tomorrow: The Supreme Court will on Friday deliver a verdict on whether death sentence of a condemned prisoner can be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in executing the capital punishment.

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhyay is also expected to pass order on a plea of a non-government organisation for fixing a time frame for dealing with the mercy petitions.

The verdict might have a bearing on a number of petitions filed by other condemned prisoners including death row convict in the Rajiv Gandhi murder case seeking for commutation of their death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay.

20:16Thane building collapse: Another TMC official arrested : A suspended assistant municipal commissioner of the Thane Municipal Corporation was arrested on Thursday in connection with last week's building collapse in Thane in which 74 people were killed, taking the number of those taken into custody for the tragedy to 14, police said.

Shyam Thorbole, the assistant municipal commissioner, was arrested on January 23 this year by the Thane's Anti-Corruption Bureau unit for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a complainant at Diva, where the TMC had demolished around seven illegal chawls, they said.

He allegedly accepted the bribe for discontinuation of the demolition drive. Following his arrest in the bribery case, he was suspended. Thorbole was later out on bail and was under the police scanner.

19:47Italian marines case may be handed over to CBI : Confusion prevails over the laws under which the Italian marine duo, accused of killing two Kerala fishermen, are to be prosecuted amid indications that the high-profile case may be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation from the National Investigation Agency.

Government sources said as per the assurance given by India to Italy, the marines will not be given death sentence and hence the stringent Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act, 2002 slapped against the duo will be dropped. Under this Act, offence of murder is punishable only with death sentence.

BJP today alleged that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which Jagdish Tytler is facing charges were "sponsored" by the Congress at the behest of the Gandhi family and sought to know why the ruling party has been silent on the issue for the last 28 years.

The main Opposition also said there are no similarities between the 1984 "massacre" and the 2002 post-Godhra riots and claimed that prompt action was taken by the government in the latter case.

"We welcome the court decision to reopen the case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre. He is a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee and even contested the 2004 elections. The riots were actually a Congress-sponsored massacre of the Sikhs," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters.

NDTV: In late August 1976, when India was under an Emergency that gave his mother Indira Gandhi absolute powers, Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi was shot at thrice by an "unknown assailant," according to a cable sent by US diplomats to Washington.

It was the third attempt to assassinate Mrs Gandhi's younger son, they reported. Mr Gandhi, then 30, was visiting Uttar Pradesh when the "well-planned assassination attempt" was made, the cable noted, and said he was "not critically injured." It credited the information to a clandestine source and said a high-powered rifle was used in the attack.

18:26CPI: WB governor doesn't know what is Politburo : The CPI-M leadership and West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan are at loggerheads over the issue of the spiral of violence that hit Kolkata after the attack on state finance minister Amit Mitra and the heckling of Mamata Banerjee.

Expressing shock over the 'premeditated assault' on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Mitra and other senior State Ministers in New Delhi, Governor M K Narayanan said on Wednesday that the incident was 'serious enough to warrant a public apology' by the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Communist Party of India state chief Biman Bose responded that the governor probably did not even know what politburo is. To this, Narayanan retorted, "I have been studying communism for the last 60 years."

18:20Served Sikhs during 1984 riots, proud of it: Tytler: A day after a Delhi court re-opened investigations into allegations that he was involved in anti-Sikh riots in 1984, Congress leader Jagdish Tytler today defended himself and said he had worked to ensure the safety of Sikh residents of his constituency Delhi Sadar and there was no substance to the allegations against him.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai, the Congress leader said he wouldn't contest elections until his name was cleared by the court. Read

"I encouraged increased German participation in India''s rapid economic growth and our plans to modernize and upgrade our manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. Our Infrastructure plans entail investment of a trillion dollars in the next five years. I also sought continuing openness and support to growing Indian presence in Germany, including in the services sector," said Dr Singh.

17:52Mamata's condition stable, advised total rest: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was hospitalised after complaints of breathing problem and palpitation, has been advised total rest by doctors who described her condition today as stable.

Doctors at the premier Belle Vue clinic, where Banerjee is undergoing treatment, said she had pain in her shoulder and waist and was under close surveillance with an advice not to do any official work for the time being.

The Chief Minister was admitted with complaints of palpitation, breathing trouble and acute joint pain in shoulder and waist shortly after her return from Delhi yesterday.

"She is stable but under continuous monitoring by doctors. She was administered oxygen last night as per requirement. Her pulse rate is low and palpitation is there," Dr Subroto Moitra, head of the 10-member medical team attending to her, said.

He said Banerjee had undergone several investigations and MRI and CT scan reports were expected tomorrow.

She had problems on her left knee and was suffering from pain, for which she was given medicines and sedatives. Doctor said she had some problems in her waist which would be cured by physiotherapy.

17:42Britain snubs Argentina's Kirchner for Thatcher funeral: Britain has decided not to invite Argentine President Cristina Kirchner to the funeral of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Downing Street said today, in a sign of the still bitter dispute over the Falkland Islands.

The government is still finalising the list of foreign dignitaries who will receive invitations to the ceremonial funeral next Wednesday of the "Iron Lady", who successfully led Britain into a war to expel Argentine forces that invaded the South Atlantic archipelago in 1982.

Prime Minister David Cameron's Downing Street office said that some current world leaders would be invited -- but Kirchner, who has led a fiery campaign to push Buenos Aires' sovereignty claims over the Falklands, was not among them.

16:562000 invitees for Thatcher's funeral, Gorby can't make it : Downing Street has released an initial list of invitations to Baroness Thatcher's funeral next Wednesday.All surviving US presidents and British prime ministers are on the guest list, as well as a representative of the Reagan family.

Ronald Reagan's widow Nancy is understood to be too frail to travel.Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will also not be attending due to health problems, his spokesman has said. Read the full report here.

16:45Karat writes to Prez on WB governor's anti-Left remarks : CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat writes President Pranab Mukherjee protesting Bengal governor M K Narayanan's statement that the Left should apologise for the attack on Amit Mitra and Mamata Banerjee and that the attack was premeditated. Objecting to the remarks, Karat said how did the governor know the attacks were premeditated and the remarks did not befit a governor.

16:37Interview: 150 days of solitude on the high seas: On Nov. 1, 2012, Abhilash Tomy embarked on a six-month solo journey around the world.In Mumbai, Mr. Tomy boarded a sailing yacht called "Mhadei,' and traveled 23,100 nautical miles (around 40,000 kilometers), brushing past the coasts of Australia, New Zealand, Chile, South Africa and the Maldives before returning to India. Tomy, the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe alone, arrived at Mumbai's Gateway of India on March 31 after 150 days of travel. Read the interview.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and his associates have, according to a
website, decided that the BJP must not project anyone as the prime
ministerial candidate. The decision was reached after consultations with
BJP president Rajnath Singh and BJP Parliamentary Party chairman LK
Advani.

The decision is the outcome of an all India survey of 543 Lok Sabha
constituencies.

His colleague told Rediff.com that Modi undergoes navrat fast for over 30 years now. For the next five days, he won't eat at all except small morsels of saunth (a variation of ginger)and jaggery. After five days of this fast, he will fast taking fruit once a day. In the evening, he will eat one fruit.

Modi is a believer of goddess Bahucharaji, whose temple is near Patan. He often visits the temple early in the morning with barely any security.

During the fast Modi keeps himself busy and goes to office too. However, after the fifth day he feels weak, despite his strong resolve.

15:52WB Governor condemns Presidency vandalism: West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan today condemned vandalism in Presidency University and said those involved should be treated like "criminals." "Those who ransacked should be treated like criminals," Narayanan, also the Chancellor of the University. Narayanan also visited Mamata Banerjee who is recuperating at Bellevue Clinic after she returned to Kolkata from Delhi yesterday.

15:50Presidency students, VC march to Writers' Building: Presidency College students in Kolkata have begun a rally to protest against the violence carried out by alleged TMC workers in the college yesterday. Vice-chancellor of Presidency College will join the protest. The rally will begin at the university and end at Writers' Building. The students' delegation will present a memorandum to the chief minister.

In Delhi, both Left and TMC supporters will hold separate rallies in different parts of the city to protest against the death of SFI student leader Sudipta Gupta and manhandling of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by SFI protesters in New Delhi on Tuesday, respectively.

TMC workers vandalised classrooms and the historic science lab, the Baker Laboratory inside the college campus.

15:39Normal traffic restored after rail mishap: Southern Railways today announced restoration of normal traffic on the Arakkonam-Katpadi sector, where a Karnataka-bound train derailed on Wednesday leaving one person dead and 33 persons injured.

14:59Wife-swapping scandal rocks Kochi Naval base: A scandal has erupted at the Naval Base in Kochi, headquarters of the Southern Naval Command, with the Kochi Harbour Police registering cases against some senior Naval officials on a compliant of the wife of a Lieutenant that he used to force her to go to bed with senior officials and that wife-swapping among senior officials was rampant at the base. Read the full report here

14:36Akhilesh announces Rs 20 lakh aid to kin of UN peacekeepers: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday announced financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh each to the family members of two peacekeepers from the state killed during a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

The Chief Minister has announced financial assistance to families of Hawaldar Heeralal from Bulandshahr and Nayab Sbedar Shiv Kumar Pal hailing from Pratapgarh district. "We will try to help them. Government will fully support their families. Government will pay rupees 20 lakh to both the families," Yadav said after paying homage to Shiv Kumar Pal, one of the five soldiers who were killed on Tuesday when their 32-member convoy was ambushed by armed men in Gurmuck in the volatile state of Jonglei in South Sudan.

14:31Presidency VC: Attack on varsity is attack on Didi: Vice-chancellor of Presidency University today said she would write to the Governor about yesterday's vandalism of various departments, and appealed to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to ensure that a serious probe was conducted to identify the attackers.

"Presidency University is not like any other educational institution. What happened yesterday was shocking. I will write (to Governor) that the attackers carried TMC flags and how they ransacked and vandalised various departments of the university," Malabika Sarkar said. She also said that since Mamata Banerjee had said that she wanted to make Presidency into a world-class university, the attack was in fact, against Mamata.

"It is my responsibility. I will seek his advice. I had also apprised the Governor's office of the violence yesterday," she said. Sarkar claimed that police stood by when students were beaten up and girl students abused.

"When we asked them to act, they said they had no order. Then why were they there? Have they come as tourists? I talked to senior police officers and they assured of full protection".

She said she would join the students in their protest against the incident. "The students are demanding that such violent incidents in the university campus should not be repeated and peace and academic atmosphere should prevail. I find these are justified and for that I will join them," she said.

She said she had also told higher education minister Bratya Basu about the violence. Noted litterateur Mahasweta Devi also criticised the incident, saying "it is very unfortunate and this only impairs the state's image."

13:40 The tentative date for the polls in Tamil Nadu for six Rajya Sabha seats is June 15, according to a schedule finalised by the Election Commission.

Though their term ends on July 24, the process for filling in vacancies announcement is with Election Commission. This schedule is expected to the announced on May 29. The last date of filing nominations is on June 5.

The suspended policemen were attached to Nehru Nagar Police Station in Kurla, central Mumbai.

"We have zero tolerance towards corruption. We want to send out a strong message," said Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh.

"We wanted to show that we will not accept such acts. I think this sort of an incident took place for the first time," he added. According to television reports, the victim, Mohammed Khan, said he was carrying out building works at a friend's home in Nehru Nagar area when he was visited by policemen asking for bribes.

12:40Navjot Sidhu feels 'suffocated', may quit politics: Wife: Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur has dropped a bombshell. As per media reports, Kaur has indicated in a post on her Facebook account that Sidhu is "feeling suffocated" in the BJP and may quit politics.

She later told reporters, "Since the past six months, I've been listening that my husband Sidhu is keeping away from the system, he's not working for the system.

Being in the system, one must have the liberty to choose your people and if you can't do so, the system suffocates you." Sidhu's wife, however, added that she wasn't commenting "on any political party".

According to sources, Sidhu, an MP from Amritsar, is unhappy at being sidelined in the party. The BJP recently reshuffled its parliamentary board ahead of the General Elections in 2014. Kaur hinted that the former cricketer was also being forced to support corruption. Zee News

12:33The father of (50 lakh) IVF babies dies at 87: Sir Robert Edwards, the 'father of IVF' whose discovery helped millions of infertile couples have children, died yesterday aged 87.Together with fellow Briton Patrick Steptoe, the Nobel Prize-winner pioneered the in vitro fertilisation technique that led to the birth of Louise Brown, the world's first test-tube baby, on July 25, 1978. Read more

Indian Express: Students allegedly belonging to Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCCP) entered the Presidency College breaking the lock of the main gate and ransacked the historic Baker Laboratory even as the policemen watched like mute spectators.

The lab, which was recently renovated, was inaugurated by former President APJ Abdul Kalam on March 11 this year.

The Trinamool student wing had organised a protest march against the heckling of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Finance Minister Amit Mitra by SFI supporters in Delhi on Tuesday.

Witnesses said that around 11 am, 150 students belonging to the TMCCP broke the lock of the main gate and entered the campus with iron rods.

They headed straight to Baker laboratory where students of Physics Department where attending their class. They also beat up three students and three teachers. The condition of two students, who received injuries on their heads, was stated to be critical.

It is also being alleged that some TMC men chased girl students across the university campus and threatened them with rape and assault, said witnesses.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, Malabika Sarkar, questioned the role of the police into the entire incident: "It was an unprovoked attack on the students, and despite police being posted inside the campus, how can outsiders enter the campus? As Governor is the Chancellor of the university, we have informed him," she said.

An FIR has been lodged by the police in connection with the incident.Both SFI and Independent Consolidation, the two students' union of the university, have called a strike on Thursday to protest the assault on the students and teachers by the TMCCP members.

12:11MBA-turned-village chief takes on India's bureaucracy: In the village of Soda, as in tens of thousands of villages across India, there is a problem: Only a third of households have toilets or access to a latrine. People walk out to surrounding fields to relieve themselves, which is a particular problem for women, who according to rules of modesty can go only under cover of darkness. Soda, however, has something all those other toilet-less villages do not. It has an iPhone-wielding sarpanch. Read the full story here.

12:00DMZ: Tensions high at knife-edge: Just ahead of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea, the world's most tense border, South Koreans take their last chance to protest -- behind them lies no-man's land.

"There are no human beings in the DMZ," says CNN's Kyung Lah as she waits for a military escort into the area. Read

11:48On Why Smartphones are Killing PCs: When people use a laptop, they expect everything to be free, and when they use a smartphone they expect to pay. That is the main reason why the laptop eco-system is dying and smartphones are thriving. Read

11:42Does India Inc love corruption?: India Inc has been conspicuously absent from a four-year-old United Nations-led global initiative against corruption, an unflattering distinction for Indian industry that could also buttress a widespread feeling that doing business in the country is difficult without bribing officials. Read

For many years, the same problem existed for visitors who came to see the rhinoceroses at the Kaziranga National Park in the northeastern state of Assam. At the low point a century ago, there were only a dozen rhinos in the entire park. Read

"People who used to flash around in big cars, Mercedes and Cadillacs, are now choosing Civics and Corollas,' says Khalid ur Rehman, general manager of Car Deals, Karachi's largest luxury car dealer. Read

11:23'In Italy, everyone defends the marines':
In Italy, the response to two Italian marines facing murder charges in India has been overwhelmingly defensive, along the lines of: "India has no right to try them, let's get them back home.

'The author of an upcoming book on the marines' year-long saga is hoping to change that narrative.

In "The Two Marines: What they haven't told you' (I Due Mar: Tutto quello che non vi hanno detto), Italian journalist Matteo Miavaldi tries to share India's side of the story with Italian readers. Read

11:21Why we should be thankful to Kingfisher Airlines: One of the firms that leased aircraft to grounded Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. has spent the past six months trying to get its planes back, but it doesn't hold a grudge against Vijay Mallya, the airline's owner. Read

11:01Savita Halappanavar abortion case: Midwife says sorry:
A midwife has apologised for telling Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar, who had a miscarriage, that she could not have an abortion in Ireland because it was a "Catholic country".Ann Maria Burke admitted she made the remark to dentist Savita in University Hospital Galway just days before she died after giving birth. Read

10:48Profiles of prejudice: Is there a grand conspiracy among the country's intelligence and police agencies to demonise the Muslim community and Islam as many allege? Or is it that when police of different States single out Muslims for different treatment, their conduct should be treated as unconnected random acts based on prejudice? Read

10:45The descent that never ends: On the Hindu: Violence begets violence, and it is pointless to ask who started the descending spiral. The important thing is for activists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Trinamool Congress, who are now engaged in attacks and counter-attacks, to immediately put an end to the senseless acts of political violence. Read

10:43Mamata's condition stable: Doctors: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was admitted to a private clinic here with complaints of breathing problem and palpitation, was resting and her condition was stable, doctors attending to her said today.

"Chief Minister is stable and she is now resting in our clinic under the observation of a 10-member medical team led by Dr Subrata Moitra," Belle Vue Clinic CEO K Tandon said.

"But she is under close monitoring." Tandon said some tests including MRI, CT scan and blood examinations had been done and some more tests were likely to take place today.

Banerjee was admitted to the clinic shortly after she returned from Delhi yesterday in the afternoon. She was driven straight to the clinic from the airport. The decision to admit her was taken after the chief minister complained of pain on both shoulder joints, neck, back mainly over left lumbosacral region and left knee joints.

Banerjee was examined on Tuesday by doctors at AIIMS in Delhi who advised her to get admitted for observation. SFI members had blocked the chief minister's passage in the Planning Commission in Delhi on Tuesday and manhandled state Finance Minister Amit Mitra while they were going to attend a meeting.

The chief minister subsequently fell ill and was administered oxygen while Mitra was put under observation at AIIMS.

10:38Indira said Sanjay small fry, he won't be PM: Wiki: Fresh US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks have revealed that Indira Gandhi had said that Sanjay Gandhi was a 'small fry' and was not going to be prime minister or president; Charan Singh was the most malleable Opposition leader, R K Dhawan plants suspicion in Indira's mind against specific Congress leaders and Jagjivan Ram was a man of few words.Sanjay Gandhi is a 'small fry', not going to be PM. Read

10:36Trinamool smells chance to turn tide: The SFI attack on Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra in New Delhi has gifted Mamata Banerjee a chance to turn the tide and sink the revival hopes of the CPM that is still counting the costs of the tactical blunder.The Bengal chief minister was today admitted to a private clinic after she cut short her visit to an "unsafe' Delhi and returned to Calcutta. She is being treated for breathlessness, pain in the joints and low blood pressure. Read

10:25Indian American legal eagles headed for US Apex court: Sri Srinivasan's confirmation hearing that could make him the first ever Indian-American to serve as a federal judge began on Wednesday, but he is already being talked up to the United States supreme court. So is Kamala Harris, California's attorney-general, who last week got a rah-rah recognition from President Obama himself. Read

08:43Why was 10-year-old locked up, SC asks UP: The Supreme Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to explain how a 10-year-old child, who was allegedly sexually assaulted, was put behind bars by the state police.

The child had to spend almost an entire day in lock-up after her mother took her to a police station in Bulandshahr to register a complaint about the assault.

08:4112-hour bandh called in Siliguri: Trinamool Congress has called a 12-hour bandh in Siliguri in north Bengal, in the wake of violent clashes between cadres of the ruling party and opposition CPI-M.

Such clashes have been reported from across the state since Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was attacked by Left Front student activists in Delhi on Tuesday.

Leaders of both Trinamool and CPI-M have urged their supporters to desist from violence, but to no avail.

The two parties have also been busy blaming each other for the violence.

The five soldiers were part of a United Nations Peacekeeping Mission. They were killed on Tuesday when their convoy was attacked in the restive region of south Sudan, which has been plagued by ethnic clashes.

08:34Judge probing Walmart case may need more time : Justice Mukul Mudgal, who is probing the alleged bribes paid by Walmart to Indian officials to gain access to local markets, has said that he has more questions for the US retail giant.

He also added that he may not be able to finish his probe by the deadline of April.

08:32We warned Mamata, she didn't listen: Delhi cops: The Delhi Police have claimed that they tried to warn West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about the Left Front student activists who had gathered at the Planning Commission to protest against her.

They urged her to use the VIP gate to enter the premises

But the Trinamool Congress chief refused to listen, telling the policeman, "I consider myself as an LIP (Less Important Person) rather than a VIP".

01:34Never seen anything like this in 25 years: Mamata: A day after she was gheraoed and her minister Amit Mitra manhandled by Left protesters in New Delhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said she was "shocked and astonished" at the "unprecedented" incident."

"Politics has become so dirty and nasty. I have spent about 25 years in Delhi since my election as Member of Parliament in 1984. What I saw yesterday is totally unprecedented and I have no words to express my condemnation of this incident," she said in a Facebook post.

"I am really shocked and astonished to see the incident... in front of Planning Commission, a constitutional body which had invited us for finalisation of nnual Plan size forBengal," Banerjee said.

00:59The spelling bee just undercut its best competitors: America's Super Bowl of spelling was thrown into disarray yesterday, less than two months before the event, with the announcement that its adolescent competitors will now be quizzed on what words mean in addition to how they're spelled.

Quartz reports: The stated reason for the change is that the Scripps National Spelling Bee has always been about 'knowledge of the English language'.

That's curious because, in point of fact, it has always been about spelling and nothing else. The tense competition, which is broadcast on national television, has since 1925 only asked that its contestants be able to spell. S-P-E-L-L.

Vocabulary is an entirely different, if also worthy, skill. But nobody asks chess masters to be good at backgammon, too.

00:48Obama unveils $3.77 tn budget, increases Pak aid: US President Barack Obama today proposed a 40 per cent increase in American aid to Pakistan, amounting to $1.4 billion, as part of his $3.77 trillion budget that focusses on new job creation and economic growth.

Obama among other things proposed to increase the US aid to Pakistan under overseas contingency operations to $1.4 billion for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2013, an increase of 40 per cent than the $1 billion that he had proposed in the last year's budget for the fiscal 2013.

The US president also proposed to reduce the deficit by another $1.8 trillion.

According to Obama's budget proposals, the State Department's$47.8 billion budget includes $6.8 billion for the frontline states of Iraq ($2.1 billion), Afghanistan ($3.4 billion), and Pakistan ($1.4 billion).

The proposals included $3 billion in base funding and $3.8 billion in overseas contingency operations funding.